The 60 Biggest News Moments of All Time

Television news has given us the chance to witness history as it happened. As part of TV Guide Magazine's 60th anniversary, we look back at the breaking stories and interviews that viewers will never forget.

1. John F. Kennedy assassination (1963) TV anchors (particularly Walter Cronkite) provide solace and real-time reporting when the nation needs it most. After four days of continuous coverage from Dallas, where JFK was killed, and Arlington, where he was laid to rest, TV Guide Magazine declares, "The medium gained a new sense of what it could do."

2. Moon landing (1969) The journey of Apollo 11 and the lunar touchdown of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin deliver the greatest TV show ever back on Earth, where an estimated audience of more than 700 million marvel at the astounding images.

3. September 11 attacks (2001) The horrific footage of two hijacked Boeing 767s colliding into the World Trade Center will forever remind us of America's darkest day. TV reporters help steady shaken viewers during the continuous coverage, but off camera they are weeping too.

4. President Nixon's resignation (1974) From the final Oval Office address to the awkward victory signs flashed from the helicopter on the White House lawn, Richard Nixon's downfall due to the Watergate scandal becomes riveting TV drama.

5. Gulf War (1991) The from-behind-enemy-lines reporting of CNN's Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman as bombs fall over Baghdad marks the beginning of live-TV war coverage.

6. O.J. Simpson trial (1995) A not-guilty verdict for the football star and broadcaster accused of murder is the stunning climax of a live-news soap opera created by the advent of TV cameras in the courtroom.

8. Rescue of Baby Jessica (1987) The successful 58-hour effort to save trapped Texas toddler Jessica McClure from a backyard well becomes a defining moment for CNN as viewers tune in to the then-nascent around-the-clock cable news channel for live updates.

9. Election-night debacle (2000) All the networks give the razor-close race for Florida's electoral votes to Al Gore and later to George W. Bush (who won the White House a month later, after the Supreme Court ruled against a recount). NBC's Tom Brokaw says, "We don't just have egg on our face, we have omelet all over our suits."

10. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011) President Barack Obama tells the nation in a televised address that U.S. Special Forces killed Al Queda leader Osama bin Laden. But, with the rise of social media, the news spreads first on Twitter.

The Other 50 (Chronologically)

Vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon invokes his children's dog Checkers in a televised address that saves his political career. (1952)

Edward R. Murrow's criticism of Joseph McCarthy in a CBS News special helps turn public sentiment against the Red-baiting senator. (1954)